


Storm

by TuppingLiberty



Series: TLIB FFC 2021- original works [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: A sweet little family, Established Relationship, February Ficlet Challenge 2021, Kid Fic, M/M, Marriage, Thunder and Lightning, but also a Meet Cute story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:55:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29208480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuppingLiberty/pseuds/TuppingLiberty
Summary: FFC Day 4: StormFeaturing: a boy scared by the thunder, a helpful dad, and a sleepy dad.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: TLIB FFC 2021- original works [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138628
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16
Collections: February Ficlet Challenge 2021: Apocalypse No





	Storm

It’s not the thunder shaking the window glass that wakes Tristan up, but James tugging on the blanket, very softly repeating, “Daddy...Daddy...Daddy…” in a scared voice. 

Tristan blinks, his tired brain slow to connect the dots and kicking straight into anxiety that the five year old is sick or injured somehow. “What’s wrong?” He sits up, maneuvering around his husband’s heavy arm - Henri always sleeps like a log - to reach for his son and check him over.

James’ eyes are ringed red, and he’s holding a blanket around his shoulders like it’ll help protect him against whatever he’s worried about. Tristan’s brain finally gets it when there’s another flash of lightning outside. His baby’s scared of the storm. 

Loud noises have been a trigger for James as long as he’s been here with them, though he’s mostly worked around daytime noises. But the dark always adds an extra layer to everything. 

“Come here, honey. We’ll keep you safe.” Tristan lifts up his blanket and helps James climb up onto the big bed, tucking him in.. “There we go.” He hugs him close through the next boom of thunder - the storm is close - before grabbing a tissue from the side table to wipe at James’ cheeks. 

James sniffles enough that Tristan takes them through their nose-blowing routine before they settle down again to listen to the rain pelt against the windows here in the master bedroom. 

“Daddy?” 

Tristan blinks, fighting against sleep. “Mhmm?” 

“Can you tell me the story again?” 

“Which one, J?” 

“The one about the princes.” 

Tristan smiles, snuggling better into the blankets. “Of course. It was a dark and stormy night,” he starts, pausing for James’ predictable fill in.

“Like tonight!” 

“Like tonight, and there was a prince who lived in a tall, tall tower.” 

“The very tippy top?” 

“Yup, right up there. Now, you might think that the top of the tower had the best views of the whole kingdom, but the elevator was perpetually broken, and there were just so many stairs.” 

“How many?” 

Tristan grins. “A least one-point-five-bajillion.” 

James’ eyes widen comically. 

“And every morning, the prince had to go down all one-point-five-bajillion stairs to go to his job at the prince office building, and every evening he came home after a looooong day of being a prince and trudged all the way back upstairs. Sometimes, on the way home, he’d stop at a local farm and pick up food so he could cook dinner, and he’d have to pack those bags all the way up the stairs too.” 

“Except when he got help-”

“Well, now, James, you can’t get ahead of the story.” But Tristan gives him a mischievous grin to soften the censure into a tease. “Okay, so, one night, when he was laden down with a great many food packages, a villain knocked him over on the street and stole all his gold. Not only that, but he’d hurt the prince, too, made him twist his ankle on the curb. The prince didn’t know what to do. It was pouring, and he was soaked through, and his food was everywhere on the sidewalk, and his ankle was throbbing. Was it broken? He couldn’t tell.” 

“But then…” 

“But then, all of a sudden, a hero appeared! The hero helped the prince up, and piled all of his bags onto his own arms, and let the prince cling onto him as they made their way to the tower. When they got back to the tower, the prince was surprised to find out that the hero had a key to it! He was even more surprised to realize that the hero only lived one floor below him, so he must be a prince too. And as a way of saying thank you, the prince invited the hero-prince to dinner. And after a lot of those dinners, the princes decided they should get married, and maybe they should move out of the tower, and adopt a toddler-prince they’d found, and live happily ever after.” 

“The end.” Smiling, James tucks himself against Tristan’s chest. 

“The end,” Tristan murmurs, wrapping the blanket more securely around them. 

It only seems to take a few seconds before James’ breath is deep and even. Henri’s hand settles on Tristan’s hip again, pressing in close behind and ghosting his lips under Tristan’s ear. “What are you going to do when he grows up and figures out that you just decided to marry the boy next door?” 

Tristan turns slightly, just enough to brush his lips over Henri’s without disturbing James. “That doesn’t make our story any less romantic, you know, Hero.” 

Henri’s lips tip up as he hugs Tristan and James closer. “On that point, I have to agree, Prince.” 

This time, the thunder barely disturbs James’ sleep, and once Tristan can tell he feels safe, he lets himself drift off too. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
